Tube-cutter



No. 627,490. Patented June 27, I899. J. P. ESVELDT.

TUBE CUTTER.

(Application filed Mar. 17, 1899.)

(No Model.)

PATENT FFTCE.

JOHN P. ESVELDT, OF DARTFORD, WASHINGTON.

TUBE-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of'Letters Patent No; 627,490, dated June 27, 1899. 'Application filed March 17, 1899. Serial No. 709,478. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN P. ESVELDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dartford, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Tube-Cutter, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to boiler-tube cutters; and the object of the'invention is to provide a simple and effective device of this character which can be readily mounted upon the flue-sheet of a boiler and which is operable to quickly cut the tubes upon the inside thereof near the flue-sheet, and the construction is such that a large number of tubes can be out without dismounting the device.

. The appliance involves in its construction a shank of mandrel provided near one end with a hub,-which is adapted to closely fit within a boiler-tube, a cutteror knife movable in the hub transversely of the shank, and a wedge adapted to engage the knife or cutter, and thereby to feed the same outwardly as the cutting operation progresses. The wedge is preferably supported for sliding movement inalongitudinal groove or'keyway formed in the shank, and it extends through a longitudinal aperture or slot formed in the knife, and the wedge or working face thereof is adapted to fit against the outer wall of said slot, so that the actof sliding the wedge forward Will move the knife outward. 1 The mandrel can be turned by a wrench or'crank or other device. The mandrel will be supported at one end by a brace, which can be adjustably connected with a longitudinal bolt extending entirely through a tube of the boiler other than that being cut, and the adjustment specified permits the cutter to be readily shifted from a tube which it has acted upon for the purpose of operating upon a new or uncut one.

With these endsin view the invention consists in the novel combination of elements and in' the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enableothers to understand the invention, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in whichof the cutting implement.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of a boiler of familiar construction to which my improved tube-cutter is shown and applied,

the tube-cutter and its connections being in elevation Fig. 2 -is a perspective view of the tube-cutter, showing a portion of the bolt whichsustains the brace. Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the hub or block which carries the cutter. Fig. lis a detail sectional View illustrating the manner of adjustably mounting the mandrel upon the supporting-brace.

- Like characters denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings. a

In the drawings, B represents a boiler of ordinary construction having the flue-sheets 2 connectedby the tubes 3,one of which, as a, is adapted to inclose a longitudinal bolt or likelsupport, asAgwhile another tube, as b, is being cut. The bolt 4 extends all the way through the tube a, and between itshead and the flue-sheet farthest from that upon which the appliance is mounted a washer is disposed, and the opposite end of said bolt extends through the longitudinal slot 5 upon the vertical leg 6 of 'the brace or bracket O,having the longitudinal horizontal portion 7 terminating in a vertical arm or upright 8,Which supports one end of the mandrel or shank E The longitudinal slot 5 is open upon its lower end, so'that the leg 6 can be disconnected from the bolt without removing the nut 9 on'the threaded end thereof, and which nut is adapted to abut against the vertical leg for the purpose of holding the same tightly against the flue-sheet and in an adjusted position. By loosening this nut the leg can be raised or lowered, thereby to effect corresponding adjustments of the mandrel, and consequently of the cutter carried thereby.

The mandrel is square for the major part of its length, as at 10, and is extended beyond and is located substantially in parallelism with the horizontal portion 7 of the brace, and this extended end of the mandrel is adapted to carry the cutting-tool, which is disposed within the tube to be cut. The mandrel has near its inner end the shoulder 12, fitting against the vertical upright supporting-arm 8, and is also provided with a journal portion 13, hearing in an opening formed in said arm, and this journal is embraced by the washer or collar 14 adjacent to the arm 8 and held in place by the key or pin 15, extending through a transverse opening in the mandrel. The mandrel at its extreme outer end is squared, as at 16, and over which the hub of the wrench 17 or analogous device is adapted to fit, so that by turning said wrench the mandrel will be rotated to efiect the cutting operation. One of the handle ends 17 of the wrench is made removable, so that the device may be operated in a corner by employing only a single handle end. A plurality of key or pin openings 15 are formed transversely through the rounded journal portion 13 of the mandrel, whereby the latter may have a longitudinal adjustment upon the upright arm 8 of the brace O, the mandrel being held between suitable washers and clamped in place by pins or keys upon opposite sides thereof.

lhehub orenlargement 18 is provided upon the mandrel near its inner end, and it is circular in cross-section to snugly fit within the corespondingly-shaped interior of the tube 1) and is provided with a peripheral channel or groove 19, into which the cuttings can fall as said hub rotates, and the latter has a transverse opening 20, in which the shank of the cutter D is fitted, the upper end of said outter being beveled or sharpened, as at 21. The shank of the cutter has a longitudinal slot 22, through which the wedge or key 23 extends, said key also extending through'the longitudinal keyway 24E, formed in the hub 18 near the mandrel and its working or wedge face being adapted to engage the outer end or wallof the longitudinal slot 22. The wedge fits within the key way or channel 25, extending along the mandrel upon one of its square faces, and it is provided at its outer extremity with the transverse finger-piece 26, by which it can be advanced for the purpose of keeping the cutter transversely of the mandrel as the cutting operation progresses.

With the device mounted upon the tubesheet of a boiler and with the supporting-bolt at located in one tube the hub 18, and consequently the mandrel E, will be placed within another tube, and the wedge 23 will be slid forward to carry the beveled edge 21 of the cutter D into concact with the inner surface of the tube in which the same is located, so that in turning the mandrel the tube can be cut, and as this operation progresses the cutter or knife will be fed outward by the operation of the wedge.

Changes in the form, proportion,size,and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is- 1. In a tube-cutter, the combination with a mandrel having a longitudinal keyway, of a hub mounted on said mandrel and having a radial perforation opening into the keyway, a cutter slidably mounted in said perforation, a slot in the hub alining with the keyway, means for rotating the mandrel, and a tapered wedge operating in said keyway and the slot of the hub and engaging the cutter to move it in its perforation, substantially as described.

2. In a tube-cutter, the combination with a mandrel having a longitudinal keyway, of a hub mounted on said mandrel and having a radial perforation opening into the keyway, a cutter slidably mounted in said perforation, a slot in the hub alining with the keyway, a slot in the base of the cutter alining with the keyway, a tapered wedge operating in said keyway and the slots of the hub and the cutter and engaging the cutter to move it in its perforation, and a peripheral groove in the hub opening into the perforation and adapted to receive chips from the cutter, substantially as described.

3. In a tube-cutter, the combination with a bolt adapted to be fitted within a boiler-tube, of a brace adj ustably connected with said bolt, a clamping-nut on said bolt adapted to engage the end of the boiler-tube and clamp said brace against the opposite end, a mandrel supported by said brace and provided with a cutter adapted to be disposed within the tube to be out, and means for rotating said mandrel, substantially as described.

4-. In a tube-cutter, the combination with a bolt adapted to extend through a boiler-tube and having a clamping washer-and nut adapted to engage the end of the tube, of a brace having an arm at one end in which is formed a longitudinal slot adapted to receive said bolt, and the otherend of said brace having a vertical arm, a nut adapted to clamp said brace against the opposite end of the tube and a mandrel supported by said last-mentioned arm and provided at one end with a hub adapted to be fitted within a tube to be cut, a cutter carried by said hub and a peripheral groove in line with said cutter and adapted to receive the chips therefrom.

5. In a tube-cutter, the combination with a bolt adapted to be fitted within a boiler-tube and having a nut at one end, a brace having a vertical leg at one end in which a longitudinal open slot is formed and said leg being fitted between said nut and one of the fluesheets of a boiler, and said horizontal portion of the brace having an upright arm, a mandrel provided with a journal portion supported by said arm and having a shoulder adapted to fit against said arm, and said brace having a longitudinal keyway and also having a hub adapted to fit within a boiler-tube, a slotted cutter on said hub, a wedge fitted in said keyway and extending through the hub and the slot in said cutter, and means on the mandrel for operating the same, substantially as described.

6. Atube-cutter, comprisingamandrelhaving a cutter at one end, and a journal portion at the other end thereof provided with a plurality of transverse openings, keys or pins In testiniony that i claim the foregoing as adapted to be inserted in the openings, and my own I have hereto affixed my signature in a brace adapted to rotatively receive the jourthe presence of two witnesses.

vnal portion of the mandrel, the latter being JOHN P. ESVELDT. 5 longitudinally adj ustably held upon the brace Witnesses:

by means of the pins or keys, substantially as i L. K. MONFORT, shown and described. G. ESVELDT. 

